


Three Card Trick

by aleksrothis



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2018-2019 NHL Season, Alternate Universe - BDSM, Developing Relationship, Hair-pulling, Impact Play, Kneeling, Light Bondage, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, References to d/s verse specific discrimination, Sensation Play, art included
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27304486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aleksrothis/pseuds/aleksrothis
Summary: NHL teams require rookie subs to be paired with a more experienced dom. Roope didn't expect to make a connection with his team assigned dom. Miro couldn't have imagined seeing Roope on his knees for another dom would affect him so much. Esa hadn't realised how complicated the two rookies would make his life.
Relationships: Miro Heiskanen/Roope Hintz, Miro Heiskanen/Roope Hintz/Esa Lindell, Roope Hintz/Esa Lindell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 80
Collections: Hockey Big Bang (2020)





	1. Roope

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my beta, luckycharmz, for many improvements and especially regulating my comma usage!
> 
> Also, thank you to the brilliant stromesquad who has made the most beautiful art for my story!

Roope didn’t hate being a sub, but it wasn’t always easy being one in the world of professional hockey. 

Growing up in Finland, he had also been assured that his career choices wouldn’t be limited by his dynamic and, once he was on the ice, no one cared. 

As his teammates in Juniors had started to push their dominance around, Roope had become resigned to the fact that he was going to be hearing a lot about their subs, and what they wanted to do with them, in locker room conversations. None of them were bad guys and none of it was ill-intended but it was frequently crude as they tended to forget that he was sitting right there and was also a submissive. Roope figured if he had a fellow sub to gossip with, he would be the same but there weren’t many of them who’d made it pro. 

His season in Florida had been a sharp wake up call. In America, people seemed to expect your dynamic to affect every part of your life, not just your personal relationships. The coaching staff and his billet family had all seemed to expect Roope to need endless coddling and while he wasn’t going to complain about the extra praise, every time they tried to discipline him, it chafed. There was nothing sexual about it but Roope could have gladly done without being treated like a misbehaving child just because he happened to take a slashing penalty or whatever. 

He knew American drinking laws were too strict for them to be able to have a few beers while they hung out, as they had back home, but he had at least expected to be able to socialise with the team without a chaperone. Then again, when he listened to what they said in the locker room, sometimes he was glad to have an excuse to avoid them off the ice. 

Roope had expected to go home with better English and practice playing on the smaller ice and he’d got that but he’d also got a better understanding of what he was going to face living in America. Roope was still determined to make the NHL, only now he knew how hard it would be. 

Returning to Tampere had been a relief. No-one on Ilves had ever suggested his dynamic might affect his hockey and, after winning gold together at World Juniors, he could be assured most of his contemporaries held no such views. He wasn’t going to be playing with them in North America though and he couldn’t help but find the locker room chat more grating now. He especially learnt to hate hearing the backhanded compliment that he ‘wasn’t like other subs.’ 

Roope didn’t expect to be drafted high so he didn’t travel over to Sunrise for it. Even so, being drafted to the NHL was amazing. The Stars had seemed interested but, due to his back injury, he couldn’t make development camp. They still sent him an information pack and arranged for him to meet with Kari Takko, their head of scouting in Finland. Takko assured him there wouldn’t be any problems with him being a sub—that Texas wasn’t as bad as some people made it out to be and that the city of Dallas itself was fairly liberal. The diet plan and training exercises the team recommended didn’t seem significantly different from what the Hurricanes had sent Sepe, tailored to his build and playing style. Roope was happy to see them encouraging him to build muscle, when many people expected subs to be tiny and delicate. Roope was never going to be that. 

Leaving Ilves for HIFK, changing the team he had played with for as long as he could remember, had been hard. That first year didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, with coming back from injury, but his second year in Helsinki brought him Miro. Heiskanen was already a defensive wunderkind yet he wasn’t arrogant about it. 

When the team goes out to a club, Roope finds himself sitting with Miro, who’s surprisingly easy to talk to. Roope offers to buy him a drink since Miro always seems to get carded because of his baby face. 

The bartender’s busy so Roope turns his smile on the dom standing next to him at the bar. “Are you here with anyone?” 

The guy looks him over and Roope tosses his hair to flash his bare throat. “Perhaps we could get to know each other better,” he suggests. 

“I don’t think your dom would like that,” the guy says, looking over Roope’s shoulder. 

Roope frowns and, when he turns to look back, Miro is almost glaring at them. 

He turns back to the dom, forcing out a laugh, “Don’t worry about him. He’s not my dom, just a teammate.” Even as he says it, he knows that the dom isn’t convinced. 

The man shrugs. “Seems like more than that to me.” 

“Your loss,” Roope tells him, it wasn’t worth getting bothered about. He didn’t strike out often but it happened and he couldn’t blame Miro for that. 

Roope makes his way back to Miro who takes the beer awkwardly. “You didn’t have to come back if you picked up, I would have understood.” 

“He asked if you were my dom since you were glaring at him.” 

Miro looks awkward. “I didn’t mean to give that impression. I was just watching out for you.” 

“You know you don’t need to do that,” Roope tells him. “I can look out for myself.” 

“I’m sorry,” Miro says. 

It sounds like he means it, so Roope’s willing to give him a pass this time. “It’s okay. Now you have to make up for it by entertaining me instead.” 

Miro blushes but he doesn’t argue. Roope hadn’t expected to get on so well with an unfamiliar dom—most of his dom friends pre-dated their dynamics settling—but Miro has a sharp sense of humour and a quiet confidence that feels much more impressive than the way so many of their teammates try to throw their dominance around. 

Their connection carries over onto the ice. Roope loves his linemates but Miro’s the one defenceman he can always rely on. Whenever they get to play together on the power play, Miro reads the game so well. There was no way he wasn’t going to be a star in the NHL. 

It feels wrong to have a crush on his younger teammate and it only gets stronger as the year goes on. Roope has no intention of acting on it—he’s determined to make the NHL too and it clearly wouldn’t work having a dom on another team. Besides, Miro’s still so young. 

When he decides to go to Texas, even if it means playing in the AHL, Roope thinks that will be the end of playing with Miro. Surely the next time they would meet would be on opposite sides of the ice. Well, probably in the same zone with Miro trying to stop Roope getting to the net. Roope might find he doesn’t like him so much then. 

There’s no question Miro is going to go high in the draft and Roope stays up late to watch it live. He had either forgotten or never realised that the Stars had won the third overall pick in the draft lottery and when their turn comes so early, it’s a surprise. Miro wasn’t a lock for third but it feels like fate as Gaglardi announces his name. Miro is there in person and Roope watches as he walks up onto the stage and pulls on that Victory Green sweater. To anyone else, Miro probably doesn’t look all that excited but Roope knows him well enough to see the elation past his neutral expression. 

He texts Miro, congratulating him and joking that he couldn’t escape him even in Texas. 

Roope doesn’t see Miro for the rest of the summer, catching up with Pate instead, fresh off his first NHL season. He sympathises as Pate complains about the team getting involved in finding him a dom. Apparently it was supposed to provide rookies with stability and ensure they had a support system. Of course, they didn’t do the same for doms. Though Roope gets their explanation, it seems more evidence of the American obsession with dragging dynamics into everything. Still, Roope figures it’s something he can worry about when he gets there. 

Roope and Miro had planned to fly over for the Stars’ training camp together, even though Miro intends to play out the year in the Liiga. Then Miro gets a concussion and Roope has to go on his own. At least he isn’t the only Finn there—he knows Julle from World Juniors and Sepe tells him Teuvo says Lindell was good people. It still isn’t a surprise that he doesn’t make the big team straight out. 

The NHL is nothing like the Liiga, or so people keep telling him, and the AHL isn’t either. Roope is happy to let people think his English is as bad as other Finns since it means he heard a lot more than they thought. 

They’re mostly a good group of guys. He even gets a hockey nickname that isn’t just a variation on his surname when the goalie, McKenna, starts calling him ‘Ace’ for his tattoo. Between McKenna, Morin and Dowler they make sure no-one tries to take advantage and, while Roope could have done without the fatherly vibe, he still appreciates them looking out for him. 

So maybe he heard worse in the Austin locker room than in Finland but it isn’t as bad as the kids in Tampa had been. Most of the doms have grown out of the worst of it but he still wishes he could unlearn what some of his teammates wanted from their hook-ups. Roope had been used to picking up in bars in Helsinki but he isn’t even legal to drink in America until November and even after that, it isn’t easy with his teammates watching. 

The stereotyping carries over into clubs where he gets hit on as a dom more times than the opposite. Roope’s one of the taller guys on the team and fairly broad-shouldered, and apparently to Americans that reads as more likely to be a dom—as though size determined that sort of thing. 

Despairing of any American actually being able to recognise his dynamic, when Roope spots a hot guy giving off obvious dom vibes on the dance floor, he decides to take things into his own hands. 

He works his way over, showing off his best moves. He can feel eyes on him and hopes he might still get lucky even if he strikes out with his target. When he reaches his destination, Roope tosses his hair and smiles at the dom. “Hey,” he says softly, as he tries to play down his size. 

The dom looks him up and down then tells him with a sneer, “I don’t swing that way.” 

Roope bites his lip to hide his annoyance at being mis-typed. He tilts his head to one side to bare his throat a little, playing up his submission. “You don’t want to put me on my knees?” 

The guy shoves him and there’s a mean look in his eyes. “I said I’m not interested. Take your freak ass elsewhere.” The bulk which had seemed appealing when Roope was looking for a dom now feels threatening and Roope suddenly feels uneasy. 

Then there’s a hand on his shoulder and a familiar voice says, “Is everything alright here?” 

Roope relaxes as Dowling gets between him and the increasingly aggressive dom. 

“Just keep your bitch away from me,” the guy spits. 

That stings and Roope lets Dowls guide him back to the team’s table but he feels off-kilter. He feels a little stupid for needing one of the veteran guys to rescue him and still frustrated at having no way to work off his excess energy. 

After that Roope makes an effort to work out which bars he’s least likely to get mis-typed at, or at least where they don’t care. He doesn’t pick up often and, when he does, he’s careful not to let them put him into any position he can’t get himself out of. It means he doesn’t go down as hard but he isn’t sure how far he can trust American doms. 

The Texas Stars are on a roadtrip when the Jets come to Dallas, so Roope has to make do with FaceTiming Pate. He tells him Canada is a little better but Roope will take the Texas weather over Winnipeg any day, even if it makes picking up harder. He’s here to play hockey anyway, not to find a dom. 

He’s a little jealous of Miro, who gets to play in the Olympics but Roope still wakes up early to watch Miro score a goal in the qualification playoff round and then again to see Finland lose to Canada in the quarterfinal. 

Roope realises how bad he has it when he catches himself imagining Miro’s hands, so skilled with the puck, in his fantasies. He knows he needs to get laid and preferably with someone who looks nothing like Miro. 

The guy is rougher than Roope usually prefers, but his heavy hand with a flogger is what Roope needs to drive Miro out of his head. After, the dom holds him down on his cock until he chokes and when he has to speak at practice the next day it’s obvious what he’d been doing, as though the fading marks across his back wouldn’t be enough. Still, dealing with teasing for his hook-up is preferable to it being about his unrequited crush on a former teammate who’s predicted to be one of the future faces of their franchise. 

The following year Miro finally makes it over to Dallas. Roope is sure it’s obvious even in training camp how he feels about Miro but Julle is the only one who comments, and he saves it for when the other Finns aren’t around. 

When he finally gets the word that he’s making the team out of training camp, Roope gets called into Jim Nill’s office. Coach Monty is there too which makes Roope a little nervous. If it had only been Nill, he could’ve just been letting him know when they planned to send him back to Cedar Park and just Monty could’ve been about things he needed to work on. Both of them have to mean it’s something actually serious. Still, Roope doesn’t think he’s done anything he needs to be worried about. 

“I’ll get to the point,” Nill says after a few moments of small talk. “In Dallas, we like to ensure all our sub players are adequately taken care of and we’ve found the best way to make sure you always have someone available to help you out is for it to be another player.” 

Well, Roope couldn’t say Pate hadn’t warned him this would happen. He forces a smile and an understanding nod. “You have someone in mind?” he asks. He doesn’t know the team well enough to be certain who’s in a relationship and who isn’t, nor to have a strong preference, though there are a couple of guys he definitely thinks he’d be incompatible with. 

“We’ve talked to some of the doms who don’t currently have a sub,” Monty picks up smoothly from Nill. “And we think Esa—Lindell—is the best option.” 

Of course Roope knows who Esa is. Just because he wasn’t a defenseman didn’t mean he wasn’t spending time with the other Finns. Roope isn’t sure if he’s supposed to be grateful but he doesn’t think he can quite manage more than relieved. Instead he asks, “And he’s good with that?” 

“Of course. He’s done a great job with helping Miro get settled in and we’re sure he can be a good influence for you.” 

Roope manages not to react to that. He still isn’t sure about being assigned a teammate as a dom but at least they’ve given him a Finn. What is it with Americans assuming all subs somehow need a guiding hand? He’d spent a whole year in Austin without any issues. 

“We thought it would help if you had someone who spoke your language but if it isn’t working out, please let us know and we can find you someone else,” Nill continues. 

So Roope couldn’t opt out and make his own arrangements. Okay, well, if Pate’s experience held true, it would only be for the year. 

“We’re not going to require that you live with him, but we do expect you to go to him if you need anything and he’ll report back to us if there are any issues.” 

Which meant they were going to expect him to make an honest attempt at actually subbing for Esa. At least they were being upfront about their expectations. Roope wasn’t thrilled about being required to sub though nor with the implication that he could expect more patronising dynamic bullshit if they couldn’t make it work. Maybe Esa would be more reasonable and would be willing to keep quiet. 

Esa is kind about it, makes it clear he doesn’t expect anything more than kneeling for him. Roope had been hesitant but it all feels very natural when it happens. Esa cooks him dinner on an off-day and when they go through to the living room to watch a movie, Roope slips down to his knees. Esa lays a hand on Roope’s head when he rests it on Esa’s thigh and doesn’t say anything. When Roope starts to fidget, Esa lifts his hand and pats the sofa next to him, lifting his arm for Roope to cuddle into his side. It wasn’t anything like Roope had feared but he probably should’ve known he could expect better from a fellow Finn. Roope doesn’t even think he’d object if Esa wanted more. 

Maybe there was something in the logic after it as it turned out kneeling regularly really helps Roope settle down as he finds his feet in Dallas and his place on the ice—or maybe it’s just Esa’s steady support. Since subbing has also been something Roope associates with sex, it doesn’t take long before he finds himself getting horny during their scenes. 

Roope doesn’t really do subtle so he doesn’t waste any time dropping hints and hoping Esa will pick up on them. Instead he rests his head on Esa’s thick thigh, looks up at him through his eyelashes and licks his lips before saying, “I’d really like to suck your cock.” 

He isn’t disappointed. He doesn’t know any guy, dom or not, who would turn down a blowjob and Esa is no exception. On the other hand, a lot of the guys he’d been with had been happy to let him get on with it. 

Esa takes control from the beginning. When Roope tries to tease him through his clothes, Esa grabs a handful of his hair and holds him in place with it, freeing his cock from his pants with the other hand. He isn’t fully hard but is definitely getting there and Roope can feel his mouth watering just from the look of it. He’d caught glimpses in the locker room but Esa didn’t flaunt it like some of the guys. 

Roope leans forward to get a taste but Esa’s grip keeps him a few centimetres away. “Take it slow,” Esa says. “I’m in no rush.” He lets Roope get close enough that he can take the tip into his mouth, easing his foreskin down as Esa gets fully erect. Roope works his tongue over the head, dipping into the slit for the sweet-bitter drops of precum. 

Esa carefully eases his grip, letting Roope take more and more until his nose is buried in Esa’s crotch, lips stretched around the base. Roope’s proud that he doesn’t gag even when it presses into his throat as Esa holds him there for a moment. 

He tries to lean into it, to show Esa just how much he can take, but Esa holds him steady. “You’re trying too hard, just relax and leave it to me.” 

It’s like no experience Roope has had before. No dom has guided him with such iron control, filling his every sense, under everything else drops away. This isn’t subspace as Roope has felt it before, a warm haze over the world; Roope’s focus narrows until all he can think about is Esa’s cock in his mouth, the musky scent, the bitter-salt taste, his lips stretched and jaw aching. 

By the time Esa comes, Roope is floating with the dizzying rush. Esa rubs his fingers through the cum dripping down his chin, feeding it back into his mouth. 

He leans his forehead against Esa’s thigh, and just enjoys Esa’s fingers combing through his hair as he comes back to the moment. 

Afterwards Esa insists that they needed to discuss how it changes their relationship. Roope has spent enough time looking through Esa’s closet to know what he’s into and he figures he could come to a compromise on any of it. “I’m good with whatever you want,” he tells him. “I know you’ll stop if I ask.” 

“It’s supposed to be about you, not me,” Esa tells him, making him negotiate for proper scenes. Roope has always been happy to go along with whatever the dom he’d picked up had wanted, just adding the few things which really didn’t work for him to his list of hard ‘no’s next time. 

Now he finds himself going through a checklist that Esa’s downloaded from the internet onto his tablet but there are just _so_ many options. Maybe he should have paid more attention when they covered this in health classes but he’d always just figured he would work it out when he found a dom. 

“If you just mark everything as ‘yes’ I’m going to know you haven’t actually read it,” Esa warns. 

“And then what?” Roope scoffs. “You’re going to spank me?” 

“I’m going to send you home and tell the team to find someone else for you.” 

Roope can tell he’s serious so he turns his attention back to the list. Some of it’s pretty easy to fill in - he likes anything to do with sex: anal, oral, whatever, he’s easy. And some of the really hardcore stuff - bloodplay, breathplay, he’s definitely not into. But that leaves a lot of grey areas, a lot of things he’d never even considered, let alone tried. 

He tries to imagine them now, not just a faceless dom, but actually Esa doing them to him. Roope suddenly finds himself worried for the first time. “What if I want something you don’t want to do?” 

Esa gives him an exasperated look. “I’m not going to do anything that makes me uncomfortable. If it’s something you need, then we can try and find a compromise, or you can find someone else.” 

“Not a lot of doms want to hook up with someone who already has a partner,” Roope says doubtfully. 

“I didn’t think the sort of doms you find in clubs are going to care.” 

“Who did you hear that from?” Roope doesn’t need Esa to answer that, he’s pretty sure it either came from Julle or from Sepe via Teuvo. Miro isn’t the sort to gossip. 

Roope turns back to his list and decides just to check the things he’s done before with a _yes_ , the things he can maybe imagine Esa doing to him as _maybe’s_ , and anything he can’t decide on as _no’s_. He figures Esa’ll tell him if there’s something he’s really missing out on but he feels out of his depth looking at some of them and he hates that feeling. 

Apparently the app can then give them a list of things they’ve matched on and Roope actually feels nervous as he watches Esa read through the list. He realises he’s still waiting for Esa to be disappointed in him and it’s a relief when nothing of the sort shows on his face. 

Instead Esa lets Roope cuddle up to him on the sofa and look through the list together. Roope hadn’t realised how worried he’d been until Esa strokes his hair and he can see that there are plenty of things Esa likes too. 

Esa hasn’t listed anything hardcore, whether because of not wanting to take the risk or just because they’re not something he would do with a casual partner, which is what Roope supposes they are. He shouldn’t be surprised to see none of the dirty talk on the list—Esa isn’t as quiet in Finnish as he is in the locker room but he’s still more reserved than Roope. 

Roope doesn’t have a lot of experience with bondage, it’s not something he’d risk with a casual hookup, but Esa turns out to be great at it. Roope trusts him absolutely and so it feels great to know there’s nothing he can do but lay there entirely at Esa’s mercy and take whatever he gives him. It is a little disappointing that he isn’t into any impact play harder than spanking but Roope can live without it. Of course, Esa insists he could still pick up if he wanted and Roope _has_ tried a couple of times but it feels wrong. 

Esa is really good at giving Roope what he needs and, more importantly, nothing they did in a scene has any effect on how he treats Roope the rest of the time. 

All the while Roope notices Miro watching them. His crush from their days with HIFK hasn’t faded and Miro has only got more appealing. The Americans don’t appreciate it and Roope watches Miro get adorably flustered when some idiot dom tries to pick him up when they go out with the team. What is it with Americans and their cluelessness about dynamics? Roope’s glad he has Esa now and doesn’t have to try and negotiate the dating scene over here anymore. 

After two games in a row where Roope gets a goal but also takes a penalty, there is joking in the locker room about whether Esa will reward or punish him that night. Roope tries to ignore their teammates; they have an agreement that Esa will never use anything which happens in a game in a scene unless Roope asks him to. 

Klinger speculates with a knowing look about whether he’ll be allowed to come. Roope wonders for this first time if he’s imposing on Esa, jealous that Klinger knows that about Esa’s preferences that he hadn’t. Denial isn’t something Roope is interested in, he’d marked as a _no_ and Esa has never brought it up. Perhaps it’s something he’s missing out on. 

Roope tries to hint that Esa should ask more of him. He isn’t sure if Esa’s refusal is because he’s being respectful of Roope’s boundaries or if he just doesn’t want Roope like that. 

At the same time, when they are being domestic, moving comfortably around each other in the kitchen or the bathroom, Roope finds himself imagining having a more romantic relationship with Esa, waking up next to him rather than Esa going back to his own room. He wants all the soft moments that he’s seen in movies—being hand-fed on his knees, lying on the sofa and having his hair petted, pet names and praise. 

Roope starts to feel guilty about how much he thinks about Miro too, even when he’s with Esa. He’s discovered he loves being blindfolded, how it keeps him completely in the moment. Except, as he drifts, stops trying to anticipate where Esa’s going to touch him or what he’s going to do and slips deeper, his mind projects an image of Miro dragging ice cubes down his chest. He can almost see the furrow of concentration on his face, the way his eyes narrow as he focuses. “Please…” Roope thinks he manages to catch himself before he says Miro’s name but Esa notices something’s up. 

If Esa were just the dom assigned to him by the team, it might not bother him so much but Esa is the heart of their Finnish corner. The steady core of the team. Roope can’t imagine Dallas without Esa, just as hockey and Miro are entwined for him. He thinks Esa would understand—he and Klinger are practically joined at the hip—and there’s a relationship Roope is envious of. 

Roope doesn’t know if there’s anything to be jealous about but he still envies the comfortable way Esa and Klinger move around each other, their on-ice connection extending into team events and downtime. If he played defence then he would have had either Miro or Esa all the time. Except he has Julle as an example to say he probably wouldn’t have. 

So he doesn’t say anything but he should have known Esa knew him too well to leave it. 


	2. Miro

It isn’t that Miro had forgotten Roope was a sub. He’d watched him pick up too many times in clubs back in Helsinki for that. But he had forgotten the NHL rule where rookie subs got assigned a dom since it didn’t affect him. 

Even so, seeing Roope on his knees for Esa shouldn’t have bothered him. They’re his friends, he should have been happy they were both getting what they needed. But every time he sees them together, it makes him grind his teeth, clench his fists. 

How dare Esa tug at Roope’s hair like that. How could Roope turn his face up towards Esa as though he was the center of his universe? Miro never usually wanted the spotlight but now he found himself wanting to push between them, make them pay attention to him instead. 

Voi, vittu! He wants Roope kneeling for _him_. As soon as the idea comes to him, Miro can’t stop thinking about it. 

He knows, logically, why he can’t be Roope’s dom. He doesn’t know the NHL any better than Roope does, doesn’t know what it takes to make it through a long season. He’s never been up and down between the A and the show, can’t give him advice on how to cope with living in North America. Helvetti, Roope has lived in America longer than he has and speaks way better English. So Esa is a better choice from the team’s point of view. 

Plus, Esa’s probably more experienced as a dom. Miro has had a couple of girlfriends and he knew which clubs he could use to find what he wanted in Helsinki but hooking up isn’t the same as a relationship. He’s never had a sub who meant as much to him as Roope does and he doesn’t want to mess up their friendship. 

As Roope gets called up and sent back down again, Miro struggles to keep his feelings under control, and he thought he’d been doing a good job. Half the team seems convinced he is totally cool all the time. He should have realised that another Finn would be able to see through the facade. 

It’s February, and it seems Roope might be sticking with the team for good when Esa invites Miro over to dinner on an off-day. He should’ve expected Roope to be there too but he hadn’t and he comes to an abrupt stop when Esa leads him into the kitchen where Roope is kneeling on a cushion beside the dining table—which is only set up with two places. 

Miro doesn’t want to spend his evening watching Roope getting hand-fed by someone else, even if that someone else is a teammate he otherwise likes and trusts. It’s just hard to switch off the jealous voice that complains it should be _him_ doing that for Roope. But he can’t walk away now or Esa will know for sure how he feels rather than just having reason to suspect. 

Roope hasn’t seemed to notice anything at least, smiling up at Miro with his usual brilliant grin, except where Miro is used to Roope’s restless energy, now his big hands are finally still in his lap and his shoulders are relaxed. Miro finds himself thinking it isn’t fair that he only gets to see this because of Esa so he forces his thoughts back to the present before Roope picks up on his discomfort. It definitely wouldn’t be fair to put his jealousy on him. 

Instead Miro suggests they watch a movie while eating rather than sitting at the table, at least that way he’ll have something else to distract him. Esa teases him for it but obliges, carrying the serving dishes through to his living room and setting them on the coffee table. For a moment, Miro thinks he might have miscalculated, that Roope’s actually going to crawl through but instead he rises gracefully. 

Miro follows behind. He ends up sitting at one end of the sofa, with Esa at the other. Roope kneels between them, which Miro feels like a blow to the gut, turned so he can’t see the screen, head resting against Esa’s thigh. Esa pushes the controls at Miro, telling him “You pick a movie,” whilst he serves himself. 

Miro can’t help watching them out of the corner of his eye as the Netflix screen loads. Esa holds out a laden fork and Roope carefully takes a mouthful. Then Esa feeds himself while Roope chews. Miro selects the first thing that looks vaguely interesting, not even sure if it’s a film or a series, just needing something to keep his mind off what is happening right next to him. 

If he reaches his foot out he could touch Roope’s knee but what exactly could he hope to gain by doing that? He’d be lucky if Esa just threw him out, if he didn’t actually get punched for it; hitting on someone else’s sub was pretty shitty in the first place, doing it in front of them, in their own house even, was crossing a line. Which doesn’t stop him wanting it, but does make it easier to control himself. 

Esa keeps up a steady flow of chatter all the way through the meal, and then continues through the rest of the movie. Miro struggles to respond when he’s using all his mental energy not to stare at Roope but worse are the parts of it which are aimed at Roope; praise at how good he’s being, how pretty he looks. Miro clenches his jaw, grinding his teeth together until they hurt. At least the physical pain is a distraction. 

Finally the movie ends so it won’t look weird for Miro to leave. He stands up, starting to make his excuses. 

“You can’t go,” Roope blurts out. “I thought you wanted me-” 

Miro swirls round. Roope is on his feet, and Miro doesn’t know what to think of his expression. He almost looks disappointed, which doesn’t make any sense when he has Esa and doesn’t need anything from Miro. Miro tells him as much, hating the way he can’t keep his own frustration from his tone. 

“Did you think I invited you here to what- rub it in your face?” Esa asks, looking between them with a frown. 

Miro’s answer must be clear from his face. What else would he have thought? 

“You think I haven’t seen you looking?” Esa looks more amused now as he lays a hand on Roope’s arm, pulling him back to Esa’s side. 

“No, but I didn’t think you’d let me-” Let him what? Run his fingers through Roope’s hair like he’s wanted to for years? Get to put Roope on his knees just for him? 

Most doms were pretty territorial about their subs and Esa hadn’t given Miro any reason to think he was different but apparently he was now suggesting they share. 

So Esa explains the rules —of course there are rules— Esa gets to be in the room the whole time, he gets to veto anything Miro does even if Roope is okay with it. Miro isn’t allowed to do anything which will impact on Roope being able to play the following day, as if he would anyway. 

Roope leads the way to the bedroom, Miro isn’t sure if it’s actually Esa’s room or Roope’s, or if they share. Esa settles into the armchair in the corner of the room as Roope wriggles out of his briefs and lays back on the bed. 

There is so much of him to look at, to touch, and Miro isn’t sure where to start, keeps glancing back over his shoulder at Esa to check if this is really allowed. 

“I know you’ve thought about it,” Esa encourages him. “What did you imagine?” 

Miro has thought about it _a lot_ , dating all the way back to them playing together for HIFK. When he’d seen Roope come back from a night out, seen the marks left on him while they were changing, watched him fidgeting on the bench because his ass was sore. He’d wanted to be the one who left those marks, the one who helped, because Roope always looked so relaxed and glowing on those days. 

But guys that look like Roope didn’t go home with guys who look like Miro and his hookups tended to be the delicate type. When he was with a sub he was bigger and stronger than, Miro always had to take care of his own strength. It’ll be different with Roope, not that he doesn’t want to take care with him. 

Of course, there were clubs that catered for doms who wanted to experiment in harder play with a more experienced sub, but Miro still hasn’t done this as much as he would like so he has more theoretical knowledge than hands on experience. However, with Esa watching over them, Miro feels brave enough to say, “I want to spank him.” 

Roope wiggles his ass at them and even Miro can recognise that as an invitation. 

“Go slow,” Esa warns him. 

It isn’t as though Miro has never done this before but it wasn’t the same. Roope is too important for him to mess this up. His first blow lands lightly, barely more than a friendly tap he might offer in the locker room. Neither Roope nor Esa react and Miro sets his jaw. The second holds more force, the clap of it ringing loud in the silence. 

It doesn’t take much for Roope’s skin to start turning pink even as Miro varies when his blows land. 

Roope isn’t still or quiet. Miro imagines what Roope would look like restrained for him and maybe gagged, giving him full access to every part of him. 

Esa stops him after maybe a dozen blows. “Is there anything else you wanted to do?” 

There is so much else Miro has thought of but they haven’t discussed Roope’s limits. Miro knows he likes impact play because he’s seen the marks of it before but he doesn’t know if Roope might be into some of the more complex things he’d like to try. 

Miro likes impact because the physical play comes easily to him but the activities that really get him into a dom headspace are things that take concentration and care. Then again, he’s never had a sub who could take as much as Roope. 

Miro wonders if Roope’s genuinely a masochist or if he likes impact as punishment or just the physical sensation of taking it. Miro isn't into causing pain for its own sake but rather enjoys watching his sub’s reactions and seeing how much they can take. It’s appealing to imagine how Roope might react to different sensations like ice or wax, or even some of the stranger looking toys he's considered picking up now he has an NHLer’s salary. 

He’d love to see how Roope would respond to edging or something more intense like lacking the use of his senses. Would he beg, struggling to do what Miro told him, or would he get so deep into his headspace that he'd let Miro do anything he wanted? 

That was always the hardest to balance as a dom and the reason Esa is observing them now. If a sub went under far enough they might not be able to stop the scene and it was a big responsibility. 

“Can I-?” he hesitates, unsure what to ask. They haven’t really negotiated this and Miro doesn’t know what equipment Esa’s got but he realises that Esa and Roope must have talked about their tastes to work out how they were compatible. Feeling bold, Miro asks, “Is there anything Roope likes that you don’t do?” 

Esa’s approving smile makes him feel warm all the way through. “I’m not really into causing pain but he has really sensitive tits. I’m pretty sure he’d like it if you played with them.” 

Miro realises he's kept a hand on Roope as he feels the shudder go through him. “Is that what you want?” 

Roope’s eyes are unfocused but he nods eagerly. “Please.” 

Esa doesn’t have any clamps or clothespins but Miro’s happy to be hands-on. He runs his hands over Roope’s chest, noting the way Roope struggles to hold still for him as his fingers brush over Roope’s nipples. Roope tips his head back and gasps when Miro circles them with his fingertips. It changes to a moan when Miro pinches them lightly. 

He’s so responsive already, Miro can’t wait to see what Roope’s like when he really gets going. He twists one nipple, letting his nails dig into the surrounding flesh and Roope whines. He’s already hard and Miro wants to know if he can come just from having his tits played with. 

“You’re being so good, Roope.” Esa’s voice isn’t as steady anymore and Miro feels proud that he’s managed to affect the other dom too. 

Miro scratches his nails over the already abused flesh. “Can I leave marks?” he asks, not sure if he’s asking Roope or Esa. Roope just pants so it’s Esa who tells him _yes_. Miro leans over to get his mouth on Roope’s chest, at first simply scraping his teeth over the swollen bud, then biting lightly, leaving faint marks to begin with. When Roope is practically vibrating with the effect to stay still, Miro finally sinks his teeth into the reddened skin. He sucks a hickey into Roope’s chest that he knows will last for days. 

When he pulls back, Roope’s eyes have fallen closed and his breathing is the slow, deep rhythm of subspace. Miro takes the opportunity to look his fill. He’s always known Roope was beautiful but seeing him like this he is freshly smitten, awed that Roope trusts him enough for this. 

Miro glances over his shoulder at Esa, suddenly uncertain again. If Roope were his sub, then he would be thinking about letting him come, and Miro desperately wants to see what Roope looks like when he does, but he doesn’t know if Esa has any rules for him. 

“Tell me what you want,” Esa says. There’s a rasp in his voice and Miro suddenly wonders what he would look like undone with pleasure as well. 

“Is he allowed to come?” Miro asks. Roope shudders under his touch and his cock jerks, leaving a trail of pre-cum across his abs. 

“Do you want him to?” Esa counters and it’s Miro’s turn to shudder. Of course he _wants_ him to, but never in his fantasies has he imagined Esa watching. Even when he’d agreed to this, he had been half-expecting Esa to be more hands on, or at least to have more restrictions about what he was allowed to do. Instead, while he’s very conscious of Esa’s presence, it doesn’t feel as though he’s being allowed to handle someone else’s sub but more like Roope has chosen them both. 

Still, Miro isn’t entirely certain if this is going to be the only opportunity he gets to do this—there are still a couple of months left of the season, plus however far they go in the playoffs, assuming they make it. Maybe Esa thinks this will get it out of their system but the taste of having Roope’s submission has only made Miro want it more. He hopes Roope will want to do this again but, even if he does, perhaps Esa won’t allow it. 

Next year they won’t be rookies anymore but that doesn't necessarily mean Roope will still want to be with him then. Maybe he only wants Miro like this, an extra to his and Esa’s relationship. Or maybe he won’t want a teammate at all. 

Miro isn’t sure where the line is but he’s sure Esa will tell him if he crosses it. “Touch yourself,” he tells Roope. “Stroke your cock for me.” 

Roope wraps his big hand around his cock. For a long moment, Miro is transfixed, watching him, before his own aching dick reminds him that he can touch himself, too. He watches Roope as he strokes himself, noticing the way his tongue pokes out and his whole face creases in concentration, finding himself echoing Roope's rhythm. 

When Esa tells Roope, “Come now,” Miro follows him over the edge. 

Reality hits him in the aftermath of his orgasm. Miro would have been happy to cuddle with Roope on the bed but he knows he needs to take charge of clean-up and aftercare. Except Esa’s already there with a warm damp cloth and a bottle of water. At least he lets Miro be the one to wipe them both down. 

Once it’s over, Esa suggests moving back to the sofa for cuddling. He disappears into the kitchen while Miro helps Roope set up the blankets and cushions to his liking. When Esa returns with drinks and snacks, rather than joining them on the sofa like before, he takes one of the armchairs. Roope looks confused, and a little disappointed. Miro wraps an arm over his shoulders, enjoying that he finally gets to do this, even if it might be the only time. 

Roope leans into his side and Miro lets himself rest his face in Roope’s hair just for a moment. 

Esa breaks the silence to lead the debrief. “Was that what you both wanted?” 

Miro is relieved when Roope nods enthusiastically, even though he knows Esa would have stopped him if anything had gone wrong. “It was exactly what I wanted, Esa,” Roope says. “Thank you.” 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Esa says, with a wry smile. “I just want you to be happy.” 

Roope stretches out under Miro’s arm in a way that feels deliberate. “I’m very happy.” 

“And you, Miro?” 

Miro’s surprised at the way Roope’s shoulders tense for a moment as he hurries to reply, “Oh, yes. It was-” Good doesn’t seem a strong enough word for how it had felt to finally see Roope like that and perfect seems too much. He looks at Roope, not Esa, “It was incredible. You were incredible.” 

Roope actually flushes at that and Miro wants to find out all the things he can see to put that look on Roope’s face again. 

Esa clears his throat, drawing Miro’s attention back to him but it’s Roope Esa is focused on. “I know management wants you to have an experienced dom and I think we’ve worked out pretty well but I don’t want to stand in the way of the two of you if you want to try and work it out.” 

“Is that really what you want?” Miro can’t keep the hopeful note from his tone as he studies Roope’s face. 

“Of course,” Roope ducks his head as though he’s embarrassed by the next part. “I liked you back in Helsinki but I didn’t think you would want someone like me. All your girlfriends were so tiny.” 

Miro had thought so many times about having someone big like Roope under him but it had seemed dangerous to pick up someone who looked too much like a teammate. It was safer to choose someone who looked as different from Roope as possible. 

It’s a little awkward trying to negotiate between the team’s requirement that Esa remains his official dom until the end of his rookie year but they agree that, while Roope will still kneel for Esa in the locker room, it’s okay for Miro to touch—no-one pays attention to their Finnish corner anyway, except occasionally to complain about the defence stealing a forward. 

They start by having Roope kneel between them like he had before, only this time his head is resting on Miro’s thigh, Esa a steady presence nearby. Miro is relieved to discover he and Roope are as compatible as he had hoped and, even as they gradually negotiate longer scenes, somehow Esa doesn’t withdraw entirely, always there with an extra pair of hands or a word of encouragement, usually to Roope but occasionally to Miro as well. 

Roope and Esa have used blindfolds before so they go a step further, muffling his hearing with earplugs so he can focus entirely on what they are doing to him. Miro explores with soft sensations at first, finding the ticklish spot on Roope’s ribs and the crease of his hip. Esa cuffs Roope’s wrists to the headboard as Miro pinches his nipples into hard peaks and then teases them with ice cubes. 

Esa stays close enough for Miro to feel his breath, his body heat. When Roope is biting his lip to keep in his moans, Esa lets Miro know so he can lean in—close enough that Roope can hear him—and assure him he wants to hear any noise Roope can make. “If I ever want you quiet, I’ll just gag you,” he tells him and Roope doesn’t hide his reaction to that. The noises he makes are too good to muffle and Miro could be happy drawing them out of him forever. 

He switches between running his fingernails over Roope’s chest and abs and following them with the ice so Roope doesn’t know which sensation to expect next. Miro doesn’t know how far he can push but Roope keeps trying to press into the contact rather than pulling away and he can see his cock growing harder with each repetition. 

“Look at his hands,” Esa prompts him. He doesn’t sound concerned and Miro looks up to see how Roope has his fists clenched tight, even as he arches his chest closer to Miro’s touch. 

Miro carefully reaches up to unbend Roope’s fingers, interlocking them with his own. “Tell me what you want, kulta,” he says, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his forehead, then down to his cheek. Roope tilts his face towards him and their lips meet. 

When Miro pulls back, the words burst out of him, “Please, Miro. I need more-” 

“I’ll give you more, kulta,” Miro promises. 

Miro runs his nails over Roope’s thighs, avoiding his cock. Roope tries to buck his hips up but Esa puts a thick forearm over his hips to hold him in place. 

When Miro finally touches Roope’s cock, it’s with the ice, running a cube up the sensitive underside. Roope keens, thrashing as much as he can where he’s restrained. Miro doesn’t tease him for long before allowing Roope to come. 

Miro doesn’t notice when Esa slips out afterwards, only that by the time he’s finished releasing Roope and reaches for the bottle of gatorade on the nightstand, Esa is gone. 

There’s an IKEA next to their practice rink, so Miro takes a trip after practice to buy kneeling cushions, a couple of spare sets of towels and picks up a pack of clothespins as an afterthought. Roope will kneel for Miro at his place but they will only scene at Esa’s house. Esa isn’t going to give Roope a curfew or anything but the serious look he gives Miro makes him feel the weight of the responsibility Esa is giving him. 

On the road is the most awkward. Room assignments vary but Roope and Miro tend to share given the language issues. Until now, Roope has gone to Esa’s room for a couple of hours to kneel, or whatever, and it would draw attention if he stopped but it would look weird if Miro were to start going with him. Esa should be able to get away with coming to them and Miro finds he doesn’t mind the idea of Esa being there. It would have been easy to resent his fellow dom for making him share, or for not trusting him when he was hardly new to it, but he agrees Roope deserved the best. 

It isn’t anything Miro could have expected but he finds, rather than wanting to spend time with Roope alone, he looks forward to going over to Esa’s, knowing that Esa won’t judge anything he and Roope decide to do. Miro also really appreciates Esa’s help with learning Roope’s tells. He lets himself get used to it and then suddenly, after just a few weeks, Esa pulls away, insisting they will be fine on their own. 

Their first time without Esa is weird. Roope is as beautiful as ever in his submission and Miro had thought he would be glad to have Roope to himself but it feels as though there is something missing. Miro tells himself he should be relieved that Esa doesn’t think he needs his supervision anymore, yet finds himself waiting to hear Esa’s soft words, feels out of his depth without his instructions, and hollowed without his gentle praise 

He focuses on Roope and they agree to move on to try some of the heavier impact play Esa wasn’t into. Miro doesn’t have any equipment with him in Dallas so they shop for it online together. Looking through floggers and clamps, Miro feels nervous that Esa has entrusted him with Roope and he doesn’t want anything to go wrong. He can’t afford to second guess himself in a scene though; it’s like being on the ice for him, he needs to be totally focused on his objective and not let himself overthink the details. 

Roope looks beautiful with Miro’s marks over his chest, across his shoulders, down the backs of his thighs. Miro can hardly believe that Esa would let him go so easily, even as he’s grateful for the opportunity to see Roope like this, to be the one to take him apart and put him back together again afterwards. 

It takes a couple more weeks after that, as Miro and Roope settle into a routine before they realise Esa’s avoiding them. Not obviously, but he goes out for drinks with whichever of their teammates offers when before he would’ve brushed them off to hang out with them and maybe the Swedes. He starts spending more time at Klinger’s place, telling them to eat without him, to go ahead and watch the next episode of their show, to not wait up for him. 

Although Roope technically lives in the same house and Miro seems to be there more often than not, it feels as though they see Esa more at the rink than at home. 

“I miss Esa,” Roope says one evening as they’re relaxing on the couch, in front of the TV. 

Miro pauses from where he’s been gently running his fingers through Roope’s hair until Roope makes a sound of complaint and he starts up again. “When was the last time he had a meal here which wasn’t breakfast or pre-game?” 

Roope pulls his phone out of his pocket. “He says Klinger and Janny are having Taco Fredag and he’s staying.” 

“He always seems to be eating with Klinger,” Miro notes. “You should tell him he’s being a traitor, hanging out with the Swedes all the time.” 

Roope gives him a sudden horrified look. “Do you think he’s dating _Klinger_?” 

Miro tries to think back to their interactions from the past few weeks. He hasn’t noticed Esa and Klinger being any friendlier than usual but they have always been close. “Surely not.” 

Roope pulls himself up into a sitting position. “We have to do something about this.” 

“About what?” If Esa and Klinger are dating then good luck to them. That uneasy sensation in Miro’s chest is surely just that Esa hasn’t trusted them enough to tell them about it. There’s no other reason for the thought to upset him. 

“Miro!” Roope looks at him with wide eyes. “We need to get Esa back.” 

The words hang there for a moment as Roope seems to realise what he just said and Miro meets his gaze as the idea resonates through them. 

Miro doesn’t think Roope is saying he wants Esa instead, but he’s still hesitant as he asks, “When you say ‘back’ do you mean-” He doesn’t know if he can share Roope—everyone knows relationships between two doms don’t work. 

Except, it was working for them, wasn’t it? Miro’s definitely a dom, not a switch, but he finds he doesn’t mind taking orders from Esa. 

Roope looks uncertain and Miro hates that he’s responsible for putting that look on his face. “I don’t want to replace you,” Roope says, “but it feels wrong without him. You feel it too, right? It’s not just me?” 

Miro nods, still trying to process that. “You want him to be part of our relationship too?” he asks. 

Roope blushes and Miro knows he’s serious because he never does that. “I- Yes, if that’s good with you.” 

“Okay.” Miro can do this. “We need a plan.” 


	3. Esa

Esa had always known Roope wasn’t really his, wouldn’t be his to keep, and he had tried not to get too attached. It’s difficult though since Roope is always so good for him. 

Instead, he tries to focus on how it makes him feel useful, helping Roope through his first year in the league. Even if he hadn’t bounced up and down between the AHL and the big club in the same way, Esa had done his time in the minors, he’d played in Liiga, he understood what it was like trying to adjust to living in a foreign country. And sure, he’s doing a lot of the same things for Miro but there had never been any worries _he_ would have to play in Austin, not when he’d made the Olympic roster—their superstar third overall pick, with people already comparing him to Lidstrom. 

The team has provided Roope with a hotel but Esa has a spare room, so it seems wrong to send him away after kneeling. Roope doesn’t always stay over to begin with, but when they move onto full scenes, Esa insists. 

Esa hadn’t expected to be more than a mentor but he feels privileged to have Roope submitting to him in earnest. Sometimes, he can’t remember how he spent all his time before Roope. 

But Esa can’t help noticing how Miro’s eyes track Roope in the locker room, when they’re out with the team. Of course, they were friends, they’d played together in Helsinki, but Esa felt it was more than Miro looking out for his sub teammate. If he had just been a concerned friend it would have been easier, Esa could have reassured him that he was taking care of Roope, but he can’t do the same about a crush. 

If Roope didn’t do the same thing, Esa might have had a word with Miro about being less obvious but it’s clear to him that they both feel the same way. Esa isn’t sure how he feels about that. He tries not to be possessive over Roope since he knows it’s only a team arrangement but it’s hard when Roope goes down for him so easily. Still, it doesn’t look as though Miro is going to say anything. 

When Roope gets sent down, the disheartened slump of Miro’s shoulders makes it clear to Esa exactly how serious his feelings are and he resolves that he won’t let the team get in their way. 

When it looks as though Roope’s actually staying up for the season, he asks if he can move into Esa’s spare room permanently. Once he’s settled in, Esa sits him down. “We need to talk about Miro.” 

The guilty look on Roope’s face tells Esa everything he needs to know. “I’m not upset,” he reassures him. “But you know team management is going to have an opinion about it.” 

“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Roope tells him. 

“Maybe you could.” 

Roope’s hopeful look twists something inside him but Esa knows he’s doing the right thing. Forcing them to stay apart for the whole year just for the team’s rules isn’t fair and Esa’s prepared to lie about it if necessary. 

They make plans for a special dinner, designed to ensure Miro is unable to resist him. When Miro hung out with both of them previously, they had avoided anything obviously dynamic-related, and if Roope had made sure he was always in contact with Esa well, there was only so much space on the sofa. 

This time Esa is going to show Miro what a good sub Roope can be, even if it hurts to know that if their plan works, Roope won’t be his sub anymore. 

The evening goes exactly as planned, which doesn’t make it any easier for Esa. Miro is a natural, handling Roope carefully and lovingly. If Esa hadn’t realised how much Roope meant to him, he would have been thrilled to see how easily they fit together. 

Watching Roope submit so beautifully for Miro just makes him more conscious of what he’s going to miss. Then, when Miro turns to Esa for approval, it’s deeply satisfying having another dom acknowledge his dominance. Esa’s never scened in a threesome before and he would’ve expected it to be more awkward but he knows Roope and Miro too well for that to ever become an issue. 

He gives them space during the aftercare, pulling away so he doesn’t have to focus on what he’s losing. The hurt look on Roope’s face makes it hard to keep his distance though. 

Esa assumes that he and Roope will return to only the team-mandated kneeling since Roope and Miro have got together. But when he offhandedly suggests that he supervise their first couple of scenes together, rather than objecting as he’d expected, they both quickly agree. 

He lays down the ground rules and sends Miro a link to the matching app. He thought Miro and Roope would figure things out for themselves from there. Instead, Miro keeps looking to him for approval with every new activity they introduce. 

Esa doesn’t mean to get so involved. He fully intends to just watch from the corner but he keeps getting drawn in, can’t help handing things to Miro, offering words of encouragement any time he hesitates. Roope still draws him in too, and Esa always wants to touch but he has to stop himself. He tries to set boundaries but it’s a challenge. 

Esa had thought it would be hard watching Roope with another dom, somehow it turns out that watching Miro’s focus at work in the bedroom is just as good as watching him on the ice. 

Esa wants so much but he can’t expect Miro to keep being happy with the presence of another dom. Esa’s almost surprised at how long he’s put up with it, but with the pretext of team management’s expectations, perhaps Miro doesn’t feel as though he can tell Esa how he really feels about it. Esa forces himself to pull back, promising them he won’t say anything. 

It hurts too much to keep being there and watching them together so Esa withdraws even further, resolving to do his best not to get between them. He starts spending more time hanging out with Klinger and Janny, though they tease him for the way he constantly checks his phone in case Roope or Miro need him for anything. 

They don’t make it easy for him and, if he didn’t know them better, he would have said they were taunting him with their relationship. Esa had told Roope it was fine for him to have Miro stay over and now he keeps finding them in his kitchen early in the morning, on his sofa late in the evening, and when he stays in his room to avoid them, they aren’t particularly quiet either. 

Esa can’t even sit and watch a movie with them—his eyes are constantly drawn to Roope—and he wonders if this was how Miro had felt before. 

Esa quickly realises that telling them any scenes had to be done at his place—which had seemed perfectly logical at the time since the team would expect him to be the one on hand if anything went wrong—was a mistake. He has to watch Roope walking out blissed out, at ease, when it wasn’t him who had put that look on his face, those marks on his neck or collarbones. Meanwhile the team _still_ makes assumptions about them, that it _is_ Esa leaving those marks. 

Klinger catches him on the way out of the locker room after practice. “You look like you need a beer.” 

Esa is glad to get out of the house so he doesn’t have to watch Miro and Roope being sweet together but he doesn’t want to seem desperate. “Make sure it’s something decent,” he tells him. 

“I’ll order takeout too,” Klinger says. 

Esa thinks he must look bad if Klinger isn’t arguing about whose turn it is. Even so, he’ll take the intervention he can tell is coming. Klinger’s his best friend on the team. If nothing else, it’ll be good to have someone to vent to. 

When they’ve finished eating, Klinger turns serious. “So, tell me what’s going on with Roope and Miro.” 

He should have known if anyone would notice, Klinger would. The friendship that makes them so attuned to each other on the ice, also means Klinger is quick to see when something is up off it. 

Still, the team could make a fuss if they found out about their arrangements. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Come on, Es, you know I’m not going to tell anyone.” 

Esa sighs. “I don’t know where to start.” 

“You think I wouldn’t notice how the looks they kept giving each other have stopped? Either they’ve fallen out or they’ve hooked up and either way I figure that’s what’s got you so turned about.” 

Esa explains how he helped get them together and how he’d scened with both of them a few times—just enough to realise how much he was going to miss Roope—before pulling away. “But now I feel like the odd one out in my own apartment,” he finishes. 

“You think they won’t notice that you’re being weird about them?” Klinger asks, reasonably. “Or maybe they haven’t yet, but they will.” 

“I’ll get over it,” Esa says. “It’s just not easy when I’m seeing them every day.” 

“You need to talk to them, Es, you know that,” Klinger tells him, and he’s right, Esa knows he is, even if he hates to admit it, but he doesn’t know where to start. He doesn’t want them to feel bad that he got over-invested, but he’s embarrassed that he couldn’t be the neutral dom the team had expected him to be. 

“I don’t even know what to say. I don’t want them to stop, I just feel awkward around them.” 

“You got into a routine with Roope, it’s okay to feel off-balance now that it’s changed.” 

“It’s not just that though. I don’t miss it because of the routine, I miss being _with_ him.” 

Klinger looks sympathetic. “Are you sure you’re not just missing having someone to sub for you? You know I can kneel for you if you need it.” 

Esa knows he would but he also knows they’re not super compatible in that way, which probably helps knowing it isn’t going to ruin their friendship. 

“Just tell them the truth,” Klinger says. “And if it goes badly, I’m always here for you.” 

Esa doesn’t know if he wants to tell the whole truth but he’s preparing to have a conversation with them, when Miro pulls him aside. Miro claims he’s nervous about trying something new with Roope because he doesn’t want anything they do to affect his playing. 

“He says you’re really good at bondage and I’ve never used anything more than handcuffs before,” Miro explains. “I’ve watched some tutorials but they all say it’s dangerous to make a mistake.” 

Esa knows he should stick to his plan, but because he’s apparently an idiot, he agrees to join them as a second pair of eyes. 

He ends up doing more than just watching, guiding Miro’s hands on where to place the ropes. Esa had intended to keep his distance but it’s hard to check everything is safely tied without touching and Roope arches up under his touch just as he had before. 

Then it doesn’t seem to make sense to move away when they’ve asked him here to observe. Esa prepares for it to be awkward, the way he has felt like a third wheel around the apartment. Instead, Miro looks over at him and Esa realises he’s waiting for an instruction, or at least some guidance. “You wanted to do more than just tie him up, right?” he prompts. 

“For sure,” Miro says. He leans back, running his hands down Roope’s arms. He pinches at the thin skin in the crease of his elbow and Roope moans just as he had for Esa. 

Miro seems hesitant so Esa ends up half-talking Miro through the scene. He tells him where to touch next and Miro improvises the rest, deciding when to pinch, use his nails, or when to lean in and bite. 

Esa forgets that he was supposed to be keeping his distance. It’s weirdly satisfying having another dom following his instructions and he finds himself getting hard. 

Esa thinks he should probably be jealous watching Miro fuck Roope’s mouth but he can’t stop encouraging him now. He’s starting to see the appeal of _sharing_ a sub. 

As soon as Roope is untied, Esa knows he has to leave. He resists the urge to jerk off, feeling it would be a breach of their trust and taking a cold shower would make them aware of his reaction. So instead, he forces himself to take several deep breaths and then goes to start making dinner. 

Telling himself it has to be a one-off, Esa realises afterwards that what he should have done was demonstrate the knots Miro needed outside the bedroom, maybe even getting him to practice the ties on Roope’s wrist while they were all still fully dressed. He resolves to be more firm about his boundaries in the future. 

This resolve lasts until a few days later when Miro asks him again. Esa isn’t sure about the motivation behind it but Miro has a great poker face and it isn’t as though Esa is going to turn down the opportunity. 

Still, he should probably make it clear he knows where they stand. “You can just forget I’m there,” Esa says. 

Miro gives him an odd look. “We wouldn’t have asked you if we didn’t want you there.” 

From there, it becomes a regular occurrence. Miro takes to following his instructions so well, Esa even wonders if he’s a switch. He seems to get as much out of obeying Esa as he does domming Roope. So Esa starts throwing in praise for him as well, at first to see him blush and then because it seems to be working for them. It’s hard to decide which of them he’s jealous of. 

The problem is Esa realises he’s developing feelings too, for both of them. 

“I think we might need something stronger than beer this time,” he tells Klinger, getting his most judgmental look in return. 

“I thought you were going to talk to them.” 

“I was, but then…” Esa explains how he’d agreed to help them out. 

“You’re an idiot,” Klinger tells him. 

“It takes one to know one,” Esa shoots back. At least this is still familiar territory. 

Klinger laughs. “Seriously, Es, how are you making this so difficult for yourself?” 

“It’s just hard not to let myself get drawn into their relationship.” 

Klinger frowns at him. “You know they both adore you.” 

Esa gives him a disbelieving look. “As a friend, sure. Maybe an older brother.” 

Klinger shakes his head. “It’s _definitely_ not brotherly how they look at you.” 

That’s something Esa hadn’t considered, hadn’t _let_ himself consider. “Really?” He’d focused so hard on being a good mentor, he hadn’t thought that might not even be what they were looking for. 

“Look, you don’t believe me, ask them. What’s the worst that could happen?” 

Roope could tell the team that he can’t go on subbing for Esa and they could arrange for him to move in with someone else. Watching him with Miro is hard but losing them both would be worse. 

As much as Esa wishes things could continue as they had been, he knows it isn’t right to do so under false pretences. Besides, the playoffs are coming up soon and the last thing he wants is for his private life to be a distraction for the team. If he does it now, there is even enough time for the team to find Roope another team dom and for Roope to settle down with them if he and Miro don’t want anything to do with Esa. 

He picks the morning after the last night of their homestand, they have a flight to Winnipeg later that afternoon and it’ll be easier to avoid them on the road if everything goes wrong. 

Esa nervously drinks his coffee and prepares breakfast. Roope emerges first, in short shorts and a skimpy t-shirt. He takes a look at the spread of food. “Is it a special occasion?” 

“No, I just- I need to talk to you and Miro.” 

Roope looks at him sharply and must be able to see the strain in Esa’s expression because he takes a cup of coffee and slips back into the bedroom. It takes a few minutes before he comes back with Miro, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Roope says you wanted to talk to us?” he sounds uncertain and Esa feels guilty. Sometimes he forgets that Miro is only nineteen. 

Breakfast is awkward. They eat quickly, jumping when they reach too close to each other. When Esa can’t distract himself with food any longer, he sits down on the opposite end of the counter, twisting his hands together nervously. 

Miro and Roope press closer together and Esa feels as though his throat might seize up. He has to force the words out, “I’m going to have to stop helping you out.” 

Miro and Roope look at each other. “Have you met someone else?” Roope asks, his usual confident tone wavering. 

“What? No. I just think it means more to me than to you,” and here’s the moment Esa expects them to reject him. 

“You know, the only reason we asked you in the first place because we both had a crush on you and didn’t know how else to handle it,” is what Miro says instead. 

Esa is stunned into silence for a moment. They want _him_? Both of them. “I’m going to owe Klinger so many drinks,” Esa says, as the relief rushes through him. 

“ _Klinger_ gave you advice?” Roope asks incredulously. 

“He said I was being an idiot and he was right, I couldn’t see what was right in front of me all along.” 

“I think we’ve all been idiots about this,” Miro agrees with a rueful smile. 

Roope bounces impatiently in his seat. “Does this mean you’ll both dom me?” 

“If that’s what you want.” 

“Can I kiss you now?” Roope asks. 

Esa can still hardly believe it, even as Roope settles into his lap. Roope licks his lips and Esa wraps a hand around the back of his neck to pull him in. Kissing him is everything he could have hoped it would be. He wishes he had let himself do this before. 

Miro comes up behind Roope, catches Esa’s eye. “Can I?” 

Esa lets his hand slip down to Roope’s waist as Miro uses Roope’s hair to tip his head back so he can kiss him too. Then he leans in to kiss Esa. Esa hadn’t expected this so he freezes for a moment, long enough for Miro to notice and start to pull away. 

Esa catches his wrist before Miro can step back or start apologising as Esa can tell he is about to. “Can we try that again?” he asks. 

Miro’s lips curl up into his nervous smile and he lets Esa be the one to initiate it this time. Esa is used to kissing subs and he tries to take charge out of habit but Miro gives as good as he gets. 

It takes Esa a while to settle into their relationship. He doesn’t want to overstep, expects trying to deal with two doms’ egos will be challenging, but Miro is constantly surprising him. He doesn’t always give in but he finds compromises that work for both of them. He keeps his own place, and sometimes even spends the night there so Esa and Roope can have time alone together. Sometimes Miro and Roope will go out to dinner together and then stay at Miro’s. They say it’s so they don’t wake Esa up when they come in late but they always text him to let him know they’ve made it back okay and Esa never goes to sleep until he’s heard from them. 

Roope thrives under the attention of two doms. Esa handles his discipline, though they had agreed beforehand that Esa would never punish Roope for anything hockey related. Roope’s never been a brat but sometimes after a bad game, or even merely a rough day, he needs somewhere safe to vent. Esa can tell when Roope is in that sort of mood, by the slamming of cupboard doors, restless pacing, and his inability to make even simple decisions. Sometimes a few basic orders are enough to settle him down, other times what he wants is to be punished for any perceived lapses and move on. 

Roope enjoys impact too much for spanking to be a punishment but making him decide between discomfort and disappointing his dom always works. Esa likes the challenge of finding predicaments that Roope can bear but would rather not. He can’t take the risk of injury with certain stress positions he’s seen online and some of the poses aren’t as challenging for a professional athlete but that still leaves plenty of options. Roope isn’t keen on edging but overstimulation works well enough, or the tease of a vibrator at either exactly the right angle or just the wrong one. 

Miro gives him the sensation he needs to intensify the sex once the punishment is over and sometimes having two doms means they can overwhelm him. A cock in his mouth and another in his ass, two sets of hands roaming over his body, help overstimulate his senses. 

It’s Roope’s idea that Esa and Miro should have time alone too. Miro suggests going out to dinner and makes reservations at Pappas Bros. Esa doesn’t expect it to work without Roope’s presence to smooth things over but again, he underestimates Miro. He’s unafraid to meet Esa’s gaze full on, never turns his head, but he never makes it feel challenging. Esa is surprised that it actually feels like a date. He thought he knew Miro pretty well already as a teammate but then they talk about their families back in Finland and barely mention hockey. 

By the time the playoffs come round, Esa can’t imagine getting through it without the two of them by his side. 

The Predators don’t make it easy for them but they make it through the first round with a beautiful goal from Klinger to see off Nashville and move onto St. Louis. It’s a frustrating series where it feels like the refs swallow their whistles for the Blues and call everything against the Stars. 

In Game 3, Esa gets frustrated with being repeatedly cross-checked by Bortuzzo, harder each time when he doesn’t let it goad him into retaliating. The third time, he lets the force of it drop him to the ice. Of course, he gets penalised for embellishment, but at least Bortuzzo goes to the box too. After the game, Roope and Miro have to calm him down after the Blues accuse him of diving. Esa’s glad it’s a home game and they can scene in a familiar place. 

Roope’s always easy for them, quick to drop to his knees, to let Esa take control. Miro seems to recognise that Esa needs this and though he never goes as far as actually submitting himself, he allows Esa to drive the play. 

Esa’s always careful with bondage but especially now when the team needs them all playing their best. So instead he arranges Roope so he is straddling Miro’s lap and tells Miro to hold Roope’s hands behind his back. Esa takes a moment to admire how pretty Roope looks, even with hockey bruises across his ribs and down his legs. 

He knows Roope loves all kinds of impact but Esa checks in anyway, figuring it might not be what he wants in the middle of a physical playoff series. “I want to hit you, okay?” 

Roope agrees without hesitation and Esa takes a moment to be grateful for how well they work together. 

Esa kneels on the bed in front of them and strokes Roope cheek, pats it a couple of times and then pulls back a few centimetres, making sure to telegraph the blow so Roope can brace himself. He doesn’t hit him hard, just enough for the snap of the slap to sound out. 

He pauses to check Roope isn’t having second thoughts but when he meets Esa’s gaze, Roope is clearly into it. Esa takes a deep breath and does it again, harder this time, then, when Roope doesn’t object, he keeps going. 

After a half dozen strikes, Esa begins to feel more settled. Roope’s cheeks are flushed pink and he’s breathing hard. Behind him, Miro looks equally wrecked. 

“Think you can take a few more?” Esa asks and Roope nods, slowly like he’s slipping into subspace. 

Esa takes extra care with the last few blows, stopping when his fingers start to sting. He isn’t done but he also doesn’t want to push Roope too far. 

Between him and Miro they manoeuvre Roope down onto the bed, Esa doesn’t have the patience to prep Roope so presses a hand to his chest, holding him in place as he jerks off. It doesn’t take long until he’s coming over Roope’s face. Watching it drip down his chin as his tongue tries to chase it satisfies something inside Esa; he feels as though he can finally relax while he watches Miro and Roope grind against each other until they finish too. 

Roope breaks his foot in Game 6 and it’s hard for Esa, as his dom, to let him keep playing but he knows Roope wouldn’t thank him for interfering. All Esa and Miro can do is support him between the games. Esa is grateful to have Miro to share the load with, and he thinks it helps Miro to have something to focus on that isn’t hockey related. 

In the hotel room in St. Louis, since they can’t let Roope kneel, they have him sit and lean back against Esa’s feet. His bad leg is stretched out in front of him while Esa pets his hair, with occasional tugs to distract him from the pain in his foot, while Miro fetches ice. The team doctors have given him some good painkillers but Roope has to be careful if he wants to play the next day so they don’t let him stay down for long. 

Esa stays the night in their hotel room. He’s past the point of caring for what management or team thinks, especially when the year is nearly over anyway. If the team doesn't know, they’re either oblivious or deliberately ignoring the signs. Getting to see Roope’s face when he wakes up and finds him still there with Miro on the side makes it worth it. 

The playoffs don’t end how they’d like but there’s always next year. Esa sits across from Miro and Roope on the plane back to Dallas and starts to make plans. They both fought extremely hard so Esa wants to treat them. 

Once they’re back home, Roope is too tired to be a brat. Esa orders takeout and gets a low stool so Roope can sit at their feet without straining his injured foot while he and Miro take turns hand feeding him. Esa tells Roope how good he had been for the team, how proud he was of him. “You can choose a reward, anything you want.” 

“Anything?” Roope looks up at him with half-lidded eyes that even hazy with subspace, Esa can recognise the challenging glint. 

“Anything that won’t aggravate your foot,” Esa says agreeably. 

Roope pouts and Esa feels a wave of fondness as he runs his fingers through Roope’s hair, gently at first and then tugging gradually harder until Roope gives a full body shiver. He leaves Roope to consider his reward and turns to look at Miro who’s watching Roope with a tender look, one that Esa can appreciate. 

“You were pretty good yourself,” Esa tells him and Miro looks up at him with that slight frown he gets whenever someone gives him a compliment, as though he’s not sure whether he should believe them or not. 

Esa kisses Miro until Roope whines about not getting enough attention. “Have you decided what you want yet?” Esa asks fondly. 

Roope nods. “Want you to fuck my throat,” he rasps. 

Esa supports Roope as they make their way to the bedroom and helps him strip and lie across the bed with his head over the edge. Miro joins them a moment later with a couple of water bottles to save them from getting up after. 

“Where do you want me?” Miro asks. 

Miro ends up lying across the bed the other way to avoid knocking Roope’s foot. He rests one arm over Roope’s hips to keep him still, letting his weight rest on it. As Esa strips, Miro lightly rests his free hand below the hollow of Roope’s throat and Esa can see how Roope swallows hard at the touch. 

Esa hooks two fingers under his chin, tipping Roope’s head further back and rubbing the head of his cock over Roope’s lips. Roope’s tongue slips out as he tries to chase after it. Esa waits until Roope gives up, letting his mouth hang open and only then does Esa press the tip against Roope’s tongue. 

He holds it there for a moment, building up the anticipation, and letting Miro get comfortable. Then he pushes all the way in. Esa doesn’t want to actually choke Roope but he knows he likes getting a little light headed so he judges his thrusts accordingly. 

Miro shifts his position and slaps Roope’s thigh. Esa feels his throat spasms and nods at Miro, “Keep going. He likes that.” 

“Hmm. I had a better idea,” Miro says. “It’s a reward for me too, no?” 

Esa can’t help his fond tone as he says, “Go on.” 

“I thought maybe I could ride him,” Miro suggests and Esa can’t miss Roope’s reaction to that. “Is that what you want?” Miro asks Roope almost casually, as though he can’t see exactly how hard Roope is. Of course Roope can’t answer with his mouth full but his whole body shakes. 

Miro preps himself efficiently and Esa slows down his movements so he can focus on watching the show in front of him. Miro slicks Roope’s dick, straddles him and slides down onto it. 

Esa feels Roope trying to move, even with his mouth full. “You want to see, muru?” he offers. Roope blinks up at him and Esa pulls out completely, using Roope’s hair to raise his head so he can watch as Miro figures out the angle he wants. Between them Roope has no leverage so Miro sets his own pace. 

Esa pulls Roope’s head back into place, setting a faster pace of his own now. Roope is completely lax under them, no tension left in him as he submits to them completely. 

When Esa comes he is pressed deep into Roope’s throat but he pulls out letting ropes of white cum streak Roope’s face. His knees almost give out in the aftermath and it takes all his energy to drop onto the bed beside them rather than on top. It means he has a perfect view of Miro pulling off, taking his and Roope’s cocks in hand and getting them both off together, spilling over Roope’s abs, which is a pretty good sight. 

Miro grabs some tissues to clean them all off and even manages to get all three of them under the cover with a combination of coaxing, cajoling, and physical manhandling. As Esa drifts off to sleep, Roope’s warmth against his front and Miro’s arm across his hip, he feels satisfied with his boys. 

With the playoffs over, the team’s talks with Esa’s agent have picked up and Klinger heads to Bratislava for Worlds, telling Esa to make sure he gets his money. Within days of their season ending, Esa signs a new 6-year contract and the Stars even agree to a no move clause for the later years. 

It’s a relief since he doesn’t see the Stars letting Miro or Roope go anywhere anytime soon. The three of them celebrate as they make plans to head back to Finland and visit each of their families. 

Esa is hopeful of what next year will bring. 


End file.
